20:20 Vision - A Reflection on Luke 6:39-42



He also told them a parable: “Can a blind person guide a blind person? Will not both fall into a pit? A disciple is not above the teacher, but everyone who is fully qualified will be like the teacher. Why do you see the speck in your neighbor’s eye, but do not notice the log in your own eye? Or how can you say to your neighbor, ‘Friend, let me take out the speck in your eye,’ when you yourself do not see the log in your own eye? You hypocrite, first take the log out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to take the speck out of your neighbor’s eye.

Jesus paints two pictures in today’s passage. One is of a blind man leading another blind man down a road which has a deep pit in it. The other is of one man trying to take out a little speck from another man’s eye while he has a much larger speck in his own eye. The point of both stories is obvious, really. If we aren’t conscious of our faults and have not corrected them, trying to assist somebody else in rectifying their faults will hinder them, not help them. The moral is simple: fix yourself before you fix others. 

 

I have spoken about this before, so let’s get a little deeper today because the pictures Jesus paints depict two different levels of blindness. Before we came to Christ, we were all blind. Paul says that “the god of this age has blinded the minds of unbelievers, so that they cannot see the light of the gospel that displays the glory of Christ, who is the image of God” (2 Corinthians 4:4). Consequently, unbelievers are blind to the gospel truth, so they cannot lead anybody else into the gospel truth. This is the blind leading the blind. 

 

Once we come to Christ, we are no longer blind. However, our vision is far from being 20:20. We are far from being the godly people that God wants us to be. But God has given us everything we need to attain this godly life, so that we can participate in his divine nature. So what do we need to do? Peter tells us: “For this very reason, make every effort to add to your faith goodness; and to goodness, knowledge; and to knowledge, self-control; and to self-control, perseverance; and to perseverance, godliness; and to godliness, mutual affection; and to mutual affection, love” (2 Peter 1:5-7).

 

And then he continues, and now I paraphrase: “If you possess these qualities in increasing measure, you will become effective and productive. Otherwise, you will be short-sighted and blind, and you will stumble!” (See 2 Peter 1:9-11). And, of course, cause others to stumble too. The blindness Peter describes here are like specks in the eye. As anybody knows, it is very hard to take a speck out of the eye when it gets there, but the first thing is discovering where it is lodged. That usually involves the use of a mirror. 

 

The word of God serves as a mirror. Reading it reflects all those specks we have in our lives. It isn’t pleasant. Like the author of the letter to the Hebrews says, “the word of God is alive and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart” (Hebrews 4:12). But let us remember that the intention is not to make us feel bad about ourselves, but to help us see clearly.

 

After all, who wouldn’t like 20:20 vision?

 

Watch a video of this reflection by Aneel Aranha here: https://youtu.be/CrGEcoeNjno

 

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